Do the things that you drink, or the things which you eat make you a “bad” person? If you go and eat a great big, greasy, fat-filled, high in cholesterol burger, does that mean that you are an evil, sinful when you eat it?
It is often in this world that you will find someone just about everywhere that you go who will find a fault with the things that you eat or drink. Whether it is gluten, or cheap meat like hot dogs or salami from the store, or sugars and sweets, you will always find people with different views on what is good or not to eat.
But as we will read, there is nothing from outside a man that defiles him, meaning, that causes him to sin. Look at an animal such as a pig. They can spend all day long in a puddle of mud and manure, yet the pig when you eat it still tastes great. That mud that coats the pig does not affect what is inside, and the pork that we eventually eat similarly does not affect us to cause us to sin. It is simply food.
Mark 7:14-23 “And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
When sin happens, where does it originate? From within the mind and soul of a person. In the mind a person can create all sorts of evils and sins. With the mind a person can decide to commit murder. With the mind someone can choose to lie and speak evil against another person. All of the sins that a person can commit all come from one place, within themselves.
Even in the case of alcohol, the alcohol in and of itself is not bad. You are not sinning if you drink alcohol. It is a person’s decision to drink the excessive amount of alcohol that leads to drunkenness and other sins. This may be a hard thing for some people to understand, but it is the truth: whatever is without the body does not defile a man. It is the sin that comes from within that does.
Remember how in the Old Testament it was forbidden to eat certain kinds of animals? It was forbidden by God in the Law at that time, but since Jesus came and took away the Law, He also made it so that we can eat all things now. No longer would it be a sin to eat an animal such as a pig, or a hare, because Jesus sanctified it.
1 Timothy 4:4-5 “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
A person should not be judged by their appearance. Some of the best dressed people that you will see could be some of the worst inside, and the homeless man down the street who is clothed in rags could be the nicest person you have ever met. It is the heart and soul of a person that makes who they truly are. It is the heart and soul that God judges, not what they eat.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 